Act One, Open Curtains
by techftw
Summary: It was just one of those things they did that other people didn't understand, such as why the president of the student council and the resident delinquent were friends in the first place.  High School AU.


Disclaimer: I own nothing, especially not these characters

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><p>"You've got to be kidding."<p>

The voice was flat and unimpressed. Yuri knew even before he opened his eyes that Flynn would be standing in front of him, his eyes narrowed and his hands on his hips. A grin on his lips, Yuri lifted his head from where it had been pillowed on his arms and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes.

"Flynn. What a pleasant surprise."

"Yuri, don't give me that I'm-a-good-student-really act. We both know it's crap," snapped Flynn. He took his hands off his hips and crossed his arms over his chest instead. "You're asleep in the library for the third time this week."

"There's seven days in a week. I think that means I'm doing _pre_tty well," replied Yuri, leaning back in his chair until the front two legs came off the carpet and he balanced himself with his knee against the underside of the table.

"It's still Monday, Yuri." All Flynn got in response was a noncommittal shrug as Yuri turned to stare down the aisle of books to his left. A pair of girls were standing there with a book they were clearly not reading; when Yuri met their curious stares, they eeped and disappeared.

Flynn sighed. Instead of continuing on his rampage, he tugged the seat across from Yuri out and fell onto it. That one, defeated action had Yuri dropping his chair back down and focusing more on Flynn than any of the grousing his friend could have done.

The library was quiet, as expected, - which was why Yuri chose it for naps in the first place – but it made having private conversations difficult. Yuri leaned across the table and asked in a low voice, "Flynn, something wrong...?"

There were a lot of nonverbal cues most people missed when they dealt with Flynn. They ignored his downcast eyes, focusing on the grain of the table instead of his companion. They disregarded the way he was unhappily clenching and relaxing his fists, the way his teeth were grinding behind his lips. They overlooked the slump of Flynn's normally immaculate posture.

Yuri knew better than to listen to what Flynn said and instead focused most of his attention on Flynn's body language whenever they spoke/argued/fought. If he thought about it, he might brush it off as something that just naturally occurred because they grew up together, but Yuri never really noticed he did it. It was just one of those things they did that other people didn't understand, such as why the president of the student council and the resident delinquent were friends in the first place.

"I got a call this morning."

Yuri's shoulders tensed, but he made no other outward reactions. "Oh?"

"Do you know Estellise?"

"Pink hair? 'Bout yay high?" asked Yuri, holding out a hand at her approximate height. Flynn nodded. "Yeah. She's on the student council with you, right?"

Flynn nodded. Estellise was a new student in their school, but she had quickly become a favorite of the student body for her gentle nature and compassion. Her parents were ambassadors, so she was used to traveling often, but she had told Flynn that her parents promised that they would stay there long enough for her to be able to graduate with her class.

It was practically assured that she was going to become class president her Senior year. She was still Sophomore, but it was plain for anyone to see that Estellise had everyone wrapped around her pinkie finger. Even if she didn't realize it herself.

There was a drawn out silence and Yuri felt his stomach sinking lower and lower. "Flynn. What happened?"

"Her parents. They died in a car crash yesterday in Germany." Flynn's voice was so low Yuri had to strain to hear it. "She told me they were supposed to be over there for two days, then come back. But they didn't-"

Yuri closed his eyes, feeling the ice in his veins travel through his body. "So that's why she was taken out of class yesterday. Everyone assumed she had gotten sick."

Flynn shook his head mutely, looking miserable. Yuri chanced reaching across the table and grabbing Flynn's hand, hoping that it would help keep Flynn grounded. "That's not all."

"No. Raven's taken her in."

"So she'll be living with us."

Flynn nodded.

Yuri and Flynn, two very different children from two very different sides of the road, would most likely have never met except for their unique circumstances. Yuri's parents died when he was still too young to remember them and he grew up moving from foster home to foster home – some good, some...not so good – until he had ended up at Raven's. The man was a pervert and a workaholic and probably an alcoholic, but he honestly cared about the kids he took in.

Yuri was the first he fostered, then Flynn. Flynn's mother had died in childbirth and his father, a cop, had raised him. On Flynn's sixth birthday, a different police officer came to pick Flynn up from his home; to his child's mind, the idea that his father wasn't coming home again wouldn't stick and he waited for weeks and then months for his dad to come back to him.

He never did.

Yuri found him when he was visiting Social Services with Raven after Flynn's last living relative – some distant cousin he had never met before – sent him back, citing irreconcilable differences, like he was getting a divorce instead of leaving a crying, traumatized child without a word to him. Raven was in an cubicle nearby, meeting one of the social workers while Flynn had been crying in the middle of the waiting area, adults around him trying to calm him down.

Yuri had thought they were attacking him and ran over as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. When Raven found them, they where curled up in the corner together and Yuri was glaring at anyone who dared approach them. Flynn had cried himself to sleep.

Raven took care of the paperwork while Yuri and Flynn took care of each other and, after a time that seemed much longer than it actually was, Flynn joined them at their house.

They had gotten new siblings since then. Flynn and Yuri went to a public high school close to their home, Judith went to a private arts school across town, while Rita and Karol went the middle and elementary school down the street from Flynn and Yuri's school.

"The old man was looking for a new addition to the family," said Yuri quietly, rubbing his thumb across the inside of Flynn's wrist soothingly. He chose his words very carefully, hoping to ease some of Flynn's anxiety by pointing out that at least she would be part of a good family. Yuri had seen bad families before, and it was no small blessing that Estellise wouldn't be subjected to that.

For Flynn, though, the problem wasn't the family, it the loss of parents in the first place. He couldn't help but empathize with others in that situation.

Flynn sighed and his shoulders drooped even lower for a moment, squeezing Yuri's hand like a lifeline. And then the moment was gone and Flynn was back in control of the situation. He carefully untangled their hands and stood, tugging the hem of his shirt down to get rid of nonexistent wrinkles.

Yuri grinned cheekily up at him and Flynn smiled back fondly until he shook his head and his Student Council President bitch-face came back. "Get to class."

Yuri didn't miss a beat. "No."

"_Yuri._"

"...Fine."


End file.
